More than 1,300 still missing in Florida after Hurricane Michael

By

Sommer Brokaw

From left to right, Spc. Sean Westmoreland, Spc. Herbert Joyner, and Pfc. Jeremy Grant, from the 153rd Charlie Troop in Tallahassee, hang the American flag on a 4x4 of debris after Hurricane Michael hit in Mexico Beach, Fla. on Saturday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Jay Ammons, working with SlickLips Seafood and Oyster House, grills up free turkey to those in need after Hurricane Michael hit in Panama City, Fla. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Ana Arevalo holds her two year old daughter Alajandra Perez while waiting in line in an Arby's Parking lot for free food and drinks in Panama City, Fla. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

State Road 98 is cracked and sinking following the storm surge in Mexico Beach, Fla. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team member hands another team member cat food to feed two cats found upstairs after checking homes for survivors in Mexico Beach, Fla. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team checks homes for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI. | License Photo

South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team members break into a window to check a home for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI. | License Photo

South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team checks homes for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI. | License Photo

South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team checks a trailer for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team members climbs a ladder to check a home for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A member of the South Florida Task Force Two Search and Rescue Team climbs a ladder to check a home for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI. | License Photo

A home is marked that it has been checked for survivors. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A damaged and destroyed home sits among lots of debris in Mexico Beach, Fla. on Friday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Bucky Lee unfurls the American flag on the pole in front of City Hall two days after Hurricane Michael slammed into Panama City. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Brett Stoeser cooks up meals for local residents in need via his church, Springfield United Methodist Church, in Panama City, Fla., on October 12, 2018. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and crew from Michigan departs Everitt Middle School after checking on a local resident who needed attention in Panama City, Fla., on October 12, 2018. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Ed Bizorik, rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard out of Michigan, checks on Roy Paul's oxygen on October 12, 2018, in Panama City, Fla. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI. | License Photo

A truck is crushed after a the side of a house fell onto it following Hurricane Michael in the Florida panhandle in Panama City on Thursday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A crushed work vehicle sits buried in debris after the siding of a building fell on it. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Clay Keels (L) visits his friend Bob Hurst (R) after his appliance store was damaged following the hurricane. The appliance store has been in the Hurst family for 73 years. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Damaged sailboats sit on top of each other at a marina. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Damaged sailboats sit on top of each other at a marina. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations UH-60 Black Hawk flight crew conduct a flyover of the Florida panhandle. Photo by Glenn Fawcett/U.S. Customs and Border Protection/UPI | License Photo

A vehicle drives by a downed power pole. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Staff help the elderly board a bus to take them from Sea Breeze Nursing home in Panama City to other nursing homes in Destin and Pensicola. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

President Donald Trump on Thursday approved disaster declarations for four Florida counties, clearing the way for federal aid to the hardest hit areas. That includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses and other programs to help with recovery. Photo by Glenn Fawcett/U.S. Customs and Border Protection/UPI | License Photo

Hurricane Michael cut power to more than 200,000 people in the Florida Panhandle, including many who may not get it back for weeks. Photo by Glenn Fawcett/U.S. Customs and Border Protection/UPI | License Photo

FEMA director Brock Long said in a Thursday briefing Mexico Beach took the brunt of the storm and is "ground zero." Photo by Glenn Fawcett/U.S. Customs and Border Protection/UPI | License Photo

Utility vehicles slowly make their way toward Panama City on I-10 following Hurricane Michael. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI. | License Photo

Sailboats sit washed up on the docks at a marina. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

People try to return to a normal life following the hurricane. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Ryan Jenkins sits on and guides his dad RJ Juncker's $32,000 "Big Dog Mastiff" bike, right, with the help of Paul Macklin out from under the debris. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Damage to the dock and sail and power boats in Panama City Marina. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Damage to the dock and sail and power boats. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

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Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Rescuers said Tuesday more than 1,300 people in the Florida Panhandle have not officially been accounted for, now several days after Hurricane Michael hit.

Michael hit a week ago as a Category 4 storm -- uprooting trees, tearing through homes and flooding neighborhoods. At least 19 people have died as a result of the storm, officials said.

CrowdSource Rescue, a group that formed last year when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, connects volunteer rescuers with people using mapping and dispatching technology.

The group said it has open cases for 800 missing adults, 141 children and 396 elderly -- for a total of 1,337 people. Crews have already rescued nearly 1,500.

The powerful storm may also have an impact on the political landscape. County election officials asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott to help workers cope with damage to polling places that will be used in next month's midterm elections.

"I firmly believe the governor needs to issue an order that allows for a wide range of things," Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux wrote in an email to the state's Division of Elections on Sunday. "[Counties] will need the ability to open fewer sites for all voters who remain, due to a lack of polling places and staff."

Lux said mail ballots may need to go to different counties because of disruption in mail service.

President Donald Trumpvisited some of the hardest hit areas in Florida and Georgia on Monday. He made a disaster declaration for six Georgia counties, which followed the same in nine Florida counties.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it's provided 715,000 meals and 1.5 million liters of water per day in Florida -- and transferred more than 350,000 meals to Georgia.

"More than 16,000 federal employees, including over 8,000 military personnel have been deployed to support Hurricane Michael response efforts," FEMA said. "Since Michael's landfall, search and rescue teams from FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard and others, working alongside state responders and volunteers, have completed 110 evacuations, 4,193 rescues/assists, 15,287 shelter in place checks, and 128 animal assists."